Parker has over 25 years of experience in agriculture, having held roles with PGG Wrightson, Bank of New Zealand, Ballance Agri-Nutrients and more recently, as chief executive of GEA Farm Technologies.
Parker holds a Bachelor of Agriculture from Massey University and grew up on a sheep, beef and dairy grazing farm.
“I’ve been in and around agriculture my entire career; farming is in my veins,” he said.
“It’s a sector that has such an important role, not only in terms of industry but for New Zealand as a whole.”
Parker said DairyNZ could help farmers navigate the industry’s challenges with immediate tools and longer-term solutions.
“We have done work previously around managing in tight times, and some of that information is readily available and can be used to support farmers.”
Parker described the industry as “cyclical” and said a number of farmers had worked through tough times before and could manage it well, but that newer entrants to the industry may need more support.
“The key message is to reach out, seek help to manage through what is a cyclical part of our business,
“There are a lot of tools available.”
In the longer term, Parker said DairyNZ would continue to focus research and development programmes around issues like methane reduction and nitrate loss.
“We also need to look at what also flows into the critical role we play with both local and central government around policy.”
Parker said key lessons were to be taken from the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) process.
“A lot of people put a lot of effort into it and tried to get together on behalf of the industry, and that’s the piece I don’t think we can lose.”
Parker said DairyNZ needed to work with the incoming government around timeframes, mechanisms and emissions pricing.
“If we are meeting our targets, that whole discussion about pricing becomes interesting, but we have to continue to make progress.”
Farmers wanted clarity about what the regulation would be, the timeframes and how it would work, he said.
“We have to strike a balance around that because globally, the trends are not going away around the need for sustainable production and how we do that.”
Parker said he believed the sector could balance both profit and sustainable outcomes, and he supported a science-backed approach to methane taxing.
“Science is at the core of what we do at DairyNZ; we’ve always relied heavily on science.
“Science is at the core of good outcomes.”
Parker said he felt optimistic for the dairy sector.
“I see a really positive future for dairy farming in New Zealand,” he said.
“The challenge is how do we navigate those choppy waters ahead?
“But when you can get alignment on agreement of what the issues are, and then try and find practical and pragmatic outcomes, then we can all progress.
“That’s the opportunity.”
This article was originally published in Rural Guardian.
